Internal Energy Released

A uranium-238 atom can break up into a thorium-234 atom and a particle called an alpha particle, \(\alpha\)-4. The numbers indicate the masses of the atoms and alpha particle in atomic mass units (1 amu = \(1.55\times 10^{-27}\) kg). So, for example, the uranium atom has a mass of 238 amu.

Part 1

When a uranium atom breaks up, the thorium atom is observed to recoil with a velocity of -3.57\(\times 10^5\) \(m/s\). How much of the uranium atom’s internal energy is released in the breakup? Assume that the uranium atom was initially at rest.

Answer Section

Please enter in a numeric value in \(J\).

Attribution

Problem is licensed under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.